MSI Press Blog

Dr. Graves (Ph. D., Texas Tech University) is an education expert, well-published in peer-reviewed journals and textbooks. During pregnancy, she suffered complications due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that resulted in kidney failure. After personally experiencing the traumatic change from career woman to a chronically ill, stay-at-home mom, she has actively cultivated strategies to balance her ongoing health battles with her desire to be a great mother and wife while staying professionally active. Her book,   How to Be a Good Mommy When You’re Sick: A Guide to Motherhood with Chronic Illness , gained the attention of   Library Journal , which reviewed it positively. Other positive reviews followed. For other posts about Dr. Graves and her book, click HERE .

Introduction: My Story When women with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) get pregnant, their RA goes into remission. At least, that’s what my doctor told my husband, Robert, and me when we went in to discuss the possibility of having a baby. At that time, we both were professors with busy careers. I was 28, and, according to my doctors, my RA was on “cruise control.” Thus, we were given a big “thumbs up” from the medical community to get pregnant. I would not trade our son for the world, but, boy, were they wrong! There was no remission for me, not unless remission means running head first into kidney failure and an abrupt pause in my career. After many months of discussions with baffled doctors, biopsies, and blood tests, I was diagnosed with Essential Mixed Cryoglobulinemia Type II—a complication of my RA that was causing kidney failure. I was officially the complicated, rare case “only found in medical journals.” In other words, my bewildered doctors and nurses all but labeled

"I now know what going from 100 to nothing and working back up again slowly actually feels like. A rollercoaster? Yes, but taking it one day at a time with family support and some tips from someone who has always insisted on learning the hard way just might make your ride a bit smoother." Suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis, a progressive autoimmune disease, college teacher Dr. Emily Graves was told the disease would go into remission while she was pregnant. That was the good news; the bad news was, it wasn't true. In fact, she suffered kidney failure, and her son William was delivered by C-section when she was only 28 weeks pregnant. The better news is that she slowly recovered and now, with a typical toddler and a supportive spouse, she offers this guide for others. She makes practical suggestions: how a sick mother can rest, prepare meals, manage a healthy regimen for everyone in the family, make schedules, deal with taking multiple medications—while being a m